Peyton Manning said the Broncos’ offense “stunk” in practice against the Texans on Tuesday. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

Peyton Manning was not a happy camper Tuesday after the Broncos’ first of three joint practices with the Texans. The Broncos’ quarterback didn’t hold back with his evaluation of his offense’s performance at Dove Valley, saying the team “stunk” and that the Texans “kicked our butt.”

Here’s what else he had to say …

On holding joint practices with the Houston Texans:
“Well, I think it is great to get somebody different. You get to go against different players, different schemes. I thought our offense stunk today. I thought the (Houston) defense totally kicked our butt. I couldn’t see what was going on on the other side of the field, so we’ll learn from the film, there will be some good things to see. Hopefully we will come out and do a better job tomorrow for our players to uphold doing our jobs of executing. But I think there will be some benefit for them, they are a 3-4 defense, they got some great defensive players, and play a lot of different coverages, (with) one of the best coaches out there. Overall it will be a good week for us. We’ve got to do better than we did today on offense.

On how the Texans played:
“They executed better than we did. I don’t know what the word is or the adjective was, but just thought they did their jobs a lot better than we did on offense. I couldn’t see the other side of the ball. That was all I was worried about.”

On the preseason so far:
“It’s good. We have played two physical games against two physical teams, and this will be a great week of work against a physical defense, as well. Saturday, the game will be good work. When you play the third game you play the most, and like I said, they give you looks at 3-4 on certain downs and then looks for four down and have all the different blitzes and coverages, as well. They have good personnel so it’s a good challenge.”

On what he hopes to get out of the third preseason game:
“I think it is always nice for your young players to see different defenses. You like to see as many things as you possible can before you get to the regular season. You can’t see it all, but this is a great way to get exposed to some different defenses, different situations, different blitzes, and what the adjustments are. Then trying to get on the same page with some of the new guys, maybe getting Emmanuel (Sanders) out there practicing and get him on the same page as (WR) Wes (Welker). Hopefully we can get him out there tomorrow.”Read more…

At Tuesday’s practice between the Broncos and Texans, Jadeveon Clowney showed why he was the top overall draft pick. (Jack Dempsey, The Associated Press)

It took all of two hours Tuesday for No. 1 overall draft pick Jadeveon Clowney to show why he’s one of the most hyped pass rushers in recent memory.

Just ask Ryan Clady, the Broncos‘ left tackle who was charged with keeping Clowney away from Peyton Manning during Tuesday’s joint practice with the Houston Texans at the Broncos’ Dove Valley training complex.

“He’s gonna be in this league for a while,” Clady said. “He’s definitely got some explosiveness, and I can see why he was the first overall pick for sure. It shows. It’s just how fast he can move at his size. Not a lot of guys can do that and he’s obviously gonna have success in this league with that kind of talent.”Read more…

The Broncos and Texans will practice against each other at Dove Valley ahead of their preseason game. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

As training camp grinds on through the hot summer, players get sick of practicing against each other.

The Broncos and Houston Texans came up with a remedy by agreeing to practice against each other for three days prior to their third preseason game, Saturday, Aug. 23 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

The two teams will practice against each other during the final days of training camp — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on Aug. 19, 20 and 21 — then take a Friday break from each other before playing their preseason game on Saturday night.

With the Broncos heading to Houston for Sunday’s game against the Texans, let’s take a look at the NFL’s best pass rushers of 2012, who are about to meet up after 2013 seasons that have held a whole lot less fanfare. (And no, I can’t promise that every future Stat of the Day post will be this detailed.)

A year ago, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and Broncos linebacker Von Miller were wrapping up seasons in which they logged 20.5 and 18.5 sacks, respectively, each falling just short of Michael Strahan’s single-season record of 22.5. (Oh, and Aldon Smith finished 2012 with 19.5 sacks, to boot.) It was the year of the 2011 draft class on defense, with the league’s three best players on three of its best teams, poised for big things in the year to come.

Broncos media services manager Rebecca Villanueva displays a jersey with quarterback Peyton Manning’s name and number in March 2012.

Sometimes, it’s tough for us people in the trees to see how no one in the mighty NFL forest is more popular than Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

The NFL just released its top 25-selling jerseys in the period from April 1-Nov. 30, and Manning was No. 1. Frankly I’m a tad surprised because his jersey has been in circulation for two years. But as the RGIII star drastically dimmed and with little sex appeal in this year’s rookie class (Geno Smith, anyone?), the trusted Manning remains on top.

Maybe that explains why the Broncos are playing their freakin’ sixth prime-time night game Thursday against the San Diego Chargers.

First, no player two years into his NFL career should be in “best ever” discussions. But Cushing said “could,” so we will consider the topic. It will be difficult for Watt, a defensive tackle who is listed as a defensive end in the Texans’ 3-4 front, to surpass Lawrence Taylor. The former New York Giant was not only dominant, he changed the game to where outside linebackers became elite rushers. Trend-setters get extra credit in every “best ever” debate.

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.